Private prisons house a tiny fraction of US inmates, an estimated 8% in 2015[0] and the federal numbers are exclusively for the detention of foreigners illegally in the country.
[0]: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/11/u-s-private-...
[0]: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/11/u-s-private-...
should you construct an argument only by its premise, or should you try to reach the person? I think [s]he assumed that you are not a prison abolitionist and tried to find an argument that might sway you.
Is it better or worse to argue like that?